


Finally

by 18lzytwner



Series: Law & Order SVU Third Series [6]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2019-10-11 19:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 17,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17452976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/18lzytwner/pseuds/18lzytwner
Summary: Things are starting to look up for Elliot and Liv when they get some news that could tear apart everything they worked for.  In the middle of it all is a new case that has the entire team wondering if they missed something on a case long ago solved.  EO sixth of new series.





	1. Chapter 1

"So what was all hush hush that you needed to see me down at my office? I mean I never figured you'd come in here voluntarily," now Lieutenant Ed Tucker commented on the person he let into his office.

"Truth be told, neither did I, but it needs to be done," Detective Elliot Stabler told him.

"That sounds ominous," Tucker swallowed as he said back down behind his desk. His promotion had come straight from the Commissioner after he'd outed Deputy Chief Robertson and what he'd been up to. Interfering with SVU was only one thing that Tucker had managed to dig up; there had been more like taking bribes and currying favor with some of New York's biggest crime bosses. The commanding officer over at OCCB (Organized Crime Control Bureau) had practically kissed Ed when he'd given them his suspicions.

"Well it is, I guess," Elliot seemed to be holding something back and Ed gave him a look.

"So how long have you and Benson been more than just partners?" Tucker asked. It was Elliot's turn for a look of his own – shock.

"I've been getting calls about you two long before your marriage broke up. Figured one day it would come to this," Ed said when he got no response from Elliot.

"Look, we were just partners until after my divorce was finalized. We finally admitted that a huge part of our lives had been affected by our partnership. My marriage wasn't great not long after the twins were born and her relationships didn't last more than a couple dates once she joined SVU. The job takes its toll and even the people who aren't on the job get hurt," the detective admitted.

"So the straw that broke the camel's back was the divorce and my guess is that you two want to share an apartment or something?" Tucker wondered.

"Yeah, we'd like to live together. Can't change one of our addresses though without raising suspicion at HR and we'd really like to continue working with each other," Elliot said.

"So why isn't your partner down here anyway? Shouldn't you both be telling me this?" Ed asked.

"She wanted to be here but she was called away to the Commissioner's office. We think it has to do with the Kenneth Smith case," Elliot told him.

"I thought she was cleared for duty. Besides she wasn't even at the shoot out," Tucker was surprised to hear it.

"Since her neck injury, sometimes the Commissioner calls her into his office, to check in. She's afraid that one of these days he'll say she has to go permanent desk duty or retire," the detective explained.

"So you're in quite the pickle. However, it might work to our advantage," the IAB Lieutenant had a smirk on his face. Elliot raised an eyebrow and was wondering just what was going on in the man's head.

"You leave everything to me. Keep your hands off of each other at work until I figure this out. Did you tell Cragen?" Tucker wanted to know.

"No. We were waiting to see what you had to say," Elliot admitted.

"Figured that it was a bit like asking her dad to borrow his daughter huh? I get that. You two do know that I don't hate other cops, right? I only hate the ones using their position for things they shouldn't. Now you head on out and make sure that you have a good excuse for the Captain as to why you weren't working on your caseload," the Lieutenant said. Elliot nodded and stood.

"Thanks Tucker," he said.

"Don't thank me yet," Ed winked.


	2. Chapter 2

"So what have we got people?" Captain Cragen asked his detectives. He'd just gotten into the precinct after an early morning doctor's appointment. Elliot had only arrived five minutes prior and Fin quickly stepped in.

"Victim is in a coma at Mercy. No ID, no purse, no cell phone."

"How did we catch this one then?" The Captain wanted to know.

"Her dress and panties were torn, her thighs were bruised, and she was dumped at the hospital from a moving car. The security cameras at the hospital caught the car but it was missing its plates," Kenny spoke up.

"We can't exactly put out an APB on a black or dark blue mid-size sedan with no plates. Just as a fun exercise, I ran down how many were in the city limits and the computer is still counting," Munch said.

"Not too many rapists dump their victims at the hospital…" Cragen frowned.

"Well we figure that the people in the car must have found her or they know who the rapist is and didn't want to get caught up in an investigation," Elliot chimed in. While he knew nothing about the videotapes, it's hard to drive a car and throw someone out of it at the same time.

"Some Good Samaritans," the Captain rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. The hospital is handling the rape kit and forensics is on scene. They're taking care of making sure the kit makes it to the lab," Fin said.

"All right so until forensics comes through we've got nothing," Cragen said.

"Not entirely. I'm running missing people reports in the tristate area to see if anyone matches our victim," Kenny told them.

"Ok very good. Make sure you're caught up on your fives until something pops," with that the Captain turned around and headed for his office.

"Hey, where is Liv?" Munch wanted to know.

"The Commissioner called her into his office again," Elliot frowned.

"Good grief," Kenny said.

"So you didn't wait for her?" Fin asked.

"Well she said she'd give me a call when she was done and now that you mention it, I'm starting to get nervous," the former Marine admitted. That last part of the sentence basically slipped out and the three other detectives looked at him like he'd lost his mind. Stabler never admitted he was nervous about anything.

"Ever since her neck injury, the Commissioner keeps checking up on her and she's afraid that one day he'll just tell her she's chained to a desk for the rest of her career or worse," Elliot explained.

"The "R" word," Kenny said. Elliot nodded.

"No baby girl? No way. He'd never do that to this unit," Fin couldn't believe it. The unit, as a whole, had one of the best solve rates in the NYPD and a big part of that was Olivia's tenacity and commitment to the team and the victims.

"I keep telling her that but after getting shot; she's more worried than ever. Told me that without the job, without us, she didn't know what she'd do," Elliot hated to spill her thoughts to the team but he figured it was only fair they know what was going on. Besides, for now their relationship status was safe.

That's when Olivia entered the bull pen; the characteristic sound of her heeled shoes on the floor giving away who the person was. The entire group looked up at her but she didn't look up at them.

"Liv? You ok?" Elliot asked concerned that she hadn't at least texted him she needed a ride.

"The Commissioner offered me a job," the words sank like a lead balloon.


	3. Chapter 3

The room went silent – it was as if time stopped. No one moved and they didn't know what to say as she sank down into her chair at her desk. She hadn't even taken off her coat.

"Really?" It wasn't a question per se but more of a "need you to repeat that", kind of way.

"Apparently, the Lieutenant that answers his phones and makes his appointments is up for retirement," Olivia explained.

"So you'd…" Munch finally managed to swallow the words and managed to get some of his own out.

"I'd be bumped to Lieutenant, provided I passed the exam," she said.

"Skip right over Sergeant?" Kenny asked.

"I already passed the Sergeant's exam," that little known fact caused Munch to practically fall out of his seat.

"When did you do that?" Elliot managed.

"Back when you and I weren't seeing eye to eye," Olivia admitted.

"So you technically could be second in command of this unit and you let me swing in breeze?" Munch was a little upset. He hated being second in command but the unit needed a Sergeant and at the time he was the only candidate.

"Turns out that the only Sergeant position available to someone of my skill set was a desk job, which at the time, I turned down. While El and I weren't seeing eye to eye, I didn't want my butt glued to a chair," she said.

"Ordinarily, they transfer you anyway," Fin said.

"Yes but they couldn't leave this unit short. Training detectives to join this unit is tough and they don't want someone who is forced to work here. The way we do things, well you know. Not every cop can handle it and not every cop would be understanding like we are.

Anyways, the Deputy Chief at the time told me that I either had to remain a detective and wait for the next go around of new Sergeants or take the post where I'd be tattooing an imprint of my butt on a chair. He was willing to bet I didn't want to do that," Olivia told them.

"He knew what he was talking about," Kenny smirked.

"So you figured you'd keep it your dirty little secret?" Elliot seemed upset and she figured he would be.

"There was no point in bringing it up. The unit couldn't have two Sergeants and Munch had more seniority so they'd choose him anyway. Besides, not long after that, you and I got our groove back and life moved on," she said.

"So now the new Commissioner wants you to be his right hand woman. No offense but why you?" Fin was curious.

"I asked him the same question. Apparently, those in line for the position were singled out by Deputy Chief Robertson. We all know what happened to him," Olivia shook her head.

"They could be perfectly good candidates," Kenny said.

"They could be. Problem is the only way to tell is to investigate them. I told the Commissioner that IAB could handle that for him," she frowned.

"And he didn't like that idea?" Fin wondered.

"Told me that I had two options. I either take the job or I do the investigating for him. I'm guessing he's betting that I won't want to sift through ten candidate files and narrow them down to two," Olivia said.

"Then he doesn't know you, does he?" Munch smirked.

"No, he doesn't," she chuckled before looking over at Elliot. He had a slight smirk on his face but she couldn't read the look he had there. That was a rarity. They'd have to talk later.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm switching a few things up here so that they differ from the show. Hope you like it!

"So you never thought to mention that you had taken the exam?" Elliot asked when they were finally alone at her apartment. The victim was still in a coma so they had been sent home.

"As I said, we were not in a good place. You know we weren't. Gitano did a number on us, even after his death.  _You_  were the one who told me that you thought we shouldn't be partners anymore," she reminded him. She wasn't wrong. Elliot felt guilty that he'd rushed to his partner instead of the kidnapped boy. When the sociopath slit the little boy's throat, Elliot blamed himself. Later, when Gitano got the drop on him, he begged for Olivia to shoot the bastard. She wouldn't do it, too afraid that Elliot would die. He had kids; he was still with Kathy at the time. She wasn't about to take the chance and leaves his family with no father.

Elliot heaved a sigh. The case had almost been the end of them. Olivia had admitted that their partnership had been the longest relationship with a man. Internally, Elliot's heart leapt. Things at his home were not good. Kathy and he were fighting. The kids were caught in the middle.

"Your silence speaks volumes," his partner broke into his thoughts.

"I came that close to admitting to you everything that night," he said.

"As was I. We're quite the mess, aren't we?" Olivia shook her head.

"Correction. We  _were_  a mess. Now, we're in this together. Ed promised to see what he could do to help. My guess is that he knew you took the Sergeant's exam but didn't say anything, thinking I knew," Elliot admitted.

"There you go dropping Tucker's name like he's been our friend for forever. I'd never think that was going to happen," Olivia chuckled.

"Me neither but now I'm beginning to see why he thought you and the Commissioner's relationship might come in handy," Elliot said.

"You think that I could use it for our advantage?" She wondered.

"Could be but let's talk about it more over dinner. I'm starving," he told her.

"Well order the Italian and I'll slip into something more comfortable," Olivia smirked and then moved toward her bedroom.

"Keep swinging those hips like that and I'll be eating something other than Italian for dinner," he muttered to himself as he heard the shower come on. Quickly, the detective called up the local Italian place and the order would be delivered within the hour. Elliot went to the fridge, pulled out a couple of beers, and then grabbed the large accordion folder off the kitchen table. He plopped down on the sofa, placing the beers on coasters on the coffee table.

Pulling out the first folder, he flipped it open to find a picture of a current Lieutenant Amy Baker. Her record seemed spotless so Elliot wondered how she managed to get on Deputy Chief Robertson's list. That was going to be the tricky part. Why did the dirty Deputy Chief pick these people for the job?

"I believe those are supposed to be mine to sift through," Olivia spoke up. Her wet hair was wrapped in a towel and she was dressed in an old NYPD hoodie and sweat pants.

"I don't care who he is, he isn't taking my partner away from me," Elliot told her.

"Then we better get to work. No getting sauce on these though. I have to give them back," she waggled her finger at him before pulling the towel on her hair down and squeezing her hair in it.

"We'll split them up. You start with the last five and I'll start with the first five. Maybe we'll get lucky and something will stick out as questionable. If not, then we're going to need to do some deep diving. Did the Commissioner give you special access to the database or something? I mean these candidates think they've already been vetted," he pointed out.

"He did give me a special password to use in the internal database. Let's hope that we can narrow the field without that first otherwise it could be a long time to figure this out," Olivia heaved a sigh.


	5. Chapter 5

"So what have you got?" Fin asked Rich, the CSU tech. The forensic specialist had called him and Munch when some of the results came in from the tests he was running. The next day had dawned gloomy with rain in the forecast but maybe their luck was about to change.

"The sample that was found inside the victim came back to a Gerald Franz, two time felon, and freshly out on parole six months ago," Rich explained.

"He didn't waste any time huh?" Munch frowned.

"Well that's what is bothering me about the result," the tech admitted.

"What do you mean?" Fin was unsure why they'd be looking a gift horse in the mouth.

"Franz's record shows no violent crimes, no history of sexual assaults. Leopards don't tend to change their spots," Rich told them, handing over the file on the man whose DNA was found.

"That is a bit odd but the guy did just spend five years upstate for robbery," Munch's insinuation was clear.

"Rich has a point. Gerald only has an attempted robbery and an actual robbery on his rap sheet. If he was going to assault someone, he wouldn't have thought twice about doing it before. Any chance the system thinks it should be a familial match?" Fin wondered.

"No; which is why I kept digging. Traces of spermicide showed up in the tests as well," the tech explained.

"So our victim had consensual sex before the attack, or there was a second perp, who used a condom, or someone is trying to set Gerald up," Munch frowned.

"Sounds complicated to me. Glad I'm not a detective," Rich said.

"Any conclusive prints on the victim's clothes or anything?" Fin was wondering. They hadn't wanted to post her picture on the news and ask if someone knew her but if they couldn't find anything soon, they'd have no choice.

"Nothing I could use. Though I identified a duck sauce stain so if you find a Chinese restaurant…" Rich trailed off.

"Fantastic. Well thanks. This certainly has been enlightening," Munch gave the tech and look and headed out of the room. Fin just shook his head and gave Rich a smile before joining his partner.

"So what have you got?" Elliot asked from his desk. The night before he and Olivia had managed to sift through all ten of the profiles that the Commissioner had given her. They had only been able to reject two of them so that left eight viable candidates.

"Lieutenant Baker is squeaky clean, which still raises the question as to why Deputy Chief Robertson picked her. I was able to eliminate Sergeant Smythe due to too many insubordination remands, which we conveniently not in the file I was given, and Sergeant Dougal because he's currently on medical leave and no one seems to know when he'll be back or if he'll be back," she told him.

"Ok so only six candidates left. Not too bad for such a short time frame," Elliot smiled.

"Elliot, Olivia, I just got a call from Fin and Munch. They are running down a lead from forensics and I want a deep dive on their suspect, Gerald Franz. Seems that the two of them think he could be getting setup," Captain Cragen emerged from his office.

"You got it Cap. Are they pulling him in?" Olivia wondered.

"Checking with his PO, see if they can get a read on him," the Captain told her. She nodded and quickly exited the interdepartmental database before jumping into the criminal system database.

"Kenny, I want you to head down to the hospital. See if you can't find out the prognosis of our victim. Her prints didn't pop in the system so we're on our own to ID her. Try and see if you can get a nice picture of her face so we can alert the media, if we have to," Cragen ordered.

"Don't we want to hold off on that?" Elliot asked.

"She's going to need family nearby if she has them and nothing we've done has narrowed our search. By four pm, we'll have no choice," the Captain said.


	6. Chapter 6

"Gerald, we have some questions," Fin flashed his badge at the ex-con and Munch did the same. The man in question was working in a bodega as a shelf stocker.

"Hey man I've been clean since I got out. You can ask my PO," Gerald told them.

"We spoke to your PO. He tells us you aren't good for what we think you did but we wanted to hear it from you," Munch said. That's when a nametag wearing man came up to them.

"Everything ok here Jerry?" He asked.

"They're just checking up on me. Making sure I stay on track," Gerald told the man, whose nametag read "Steve".

"Yeah, we like to keep an eye on recent parolees. Make sure they're actually gainfully employed. Why don't you show me your records while we're here?" Munch asked, pulling the man away from the conversation.

"So what do you think I did?" Gerald wanted to know.

"Dumped a woman at a hospital. This woman had been assaulted. We got your DNA so don't lie to me," Fin gave him a look.

"DNA? What are you talking about? I don't need to assault someone to have my fun. Look at my record," the ex-con said.

"Oh yeah? Then what happened to this woman?" Fin flashed a picture of the victim in the hospital.

"Oh my God. Is that Sandy?" Gerald wanted to know.

"We don't know who she is. She was dumped from a moving car at the hospital with no ID and your DNA inside her," Fin pressed him. That's when the ex-con started to fall apart. He leaned up against the cart he'd been pulling food items off of.

"That is Sandy," the look on his face told Fin that if the man in front of him raped the victim then he was doing a great acting job.

"What is her last name? We need you to come to the hospital to physically ID the victim and we need to know if she has any family," the detective said.

"Her last name is Thompkins. What about my job? I like Sandy but that was more of a causal thing. I can't lose my job and her, I just can't," Gerald told him. Fin knew that despite what the ex-con just said, it was obviously more than just a casual thing.

"We'll square it with your boss, come on," the detective promised. The two walked up to the front of the store to find Munch and Steve. After a quick explanation, letting the manager know that Gerald was helping them and not in trouble, Steve let him go. Munch quickly put a call into the Captain and then one to Kenny.

"We have an ID on our victim. Her name is Sandy Thompkins. Gerald Franz ID'd her and Fin and Munch are taking him to the hospital to confirm. It looks like Gerald is having a relationship with Sandy and was completely surprised at what happened," Cragen explained to Elliot and Olivia.

"I'll run a search to see if anyone declared her missing," Elliot said.

"This narrows our timeline. Once we know when Gerald left her, then we can hopefully trace her steps to the hospital," Olivia was glad that they finally had a break.

"Hopefully that does help. Forensics hasn't found much else but there is a secondary crime scene out there somewhere and it probably holds the clues we need," Cragen agreed. Olivia's desk phone rang and she picked it up.

"Benson, you think you can slip away for a little bit?" It was Ed Tucker on the other end of the line. He hadn't even bothered to announce who it was.

"Official business?" She asked.

"Is there any other kind?" Tucker wanted to know.

"Right. I'll tell the Captain," Olivia said.

"See you soon," the Lieutenant said.


	7. Chapter 7

"You wanted to see me Ed?" Olivia poked her head into the Lieutenant's office. Cragen was growing concerned that he was about to lose one of his best detectives and he made it clear to her that he didn't want that. She had tried to reassure him before heading down to One PP and the IAB office.

"Indeed I do Sergeant Benson," he gave her a wink and she wondered what that was about as she closed the door behind her so they could have some privacy.

"So you've managed to get on the good side of the Commissioner and then you go ahead and start dating your partner…" Ed started.

"Things have never been easy. Why should they start now?" Olivia teased.

"Well how goes your narrowing of the profiles that was dumped in your lap?" He asked.

"Elliot tell you about that?" She wondered how he knew.

"He did, sent me a text before you got here. Figured you might not bring it up since you want to stay in the good graces with the Commissioner," Tucker said.

"He is the last guy I'd want to piss off," Olivia nodded.

"That's why what I'm proposing is a little tricky. Having your cake and eating it too will come at a cost. No matter how I slice it, I don't see the Commissioner violating policy to let you and Elliot stay partners and be those kind of partners outside of work. Despite your elevated status with him, what might happen is this – he'll allow you to stay in the same unit but you can't be actual partners. Can't be in any situation where you may choose your romantic partner's life over a civilian's or even a suspect's. The fact of the matter is, Munch is still five years from retirement and the unit doesn't need two sergeants.

"But I think we may be able to work around that and get the two of you where you want to be. Here's the tricky part: option one – you leave your apartment, move in with Stabler, and open a PO Box for your mail. It's not unheard of for cops to want their mail more secure than being in their building or to use one while moving for uninterrupted service and then forget to change the address on their paperwork," he explained.

"But then if we get caught, it'll look like we were hiding something," the detective frowned.

"Risky for sure but it could buy us some time to come up with a better plan," Tucker said.

"So what's option two?" Olivia asked.

"Option two is – you completely nail the selection of the current Lieutenant's replacement. My guess then is that you could name your price, despite the fact that he's been keeping a close eye on you; your record, the unit's record, and the big splash you guys made in the news recently would be enough that he won't split the unit up," Tucker suggested.

"Geez. That's a ballsy suggestion," Olivia shook her head.

"See I told you, tricky but here's the best part – you're going to hand over those profiles and I'll do all the digging for you," he said.

"I can do it," were the first words out of her mouth.

"Of course you can but I brought down the Deputy Chief. If there is anyone who understands his motives, it's me," Tucker pointed out. Olivia really couldn't argue with that.

"I see your point but Elliot and I have narrowed the list from ten down to six. There is one that bothers me though," she said.

"Oh yeah, which one?" Ed wanted to know.

"A Lieutenant Amy Baker. She appears squeaky clean and I have to wonder how she made the Deputy Chief's list," the detective told him. Tucker nodded and wrote down the name.

"Text me the remaining names and badge numbers when you get back to the precinct," he said.

"Will do. Thanks Ed," Olivia smiled.

"More than welcome Liv. You tell Stabler he's an asshole for me?" He smirked at the running joke between him and her partner.

"Of course, you know how he likes it when you call him names," the detective chuckled. Her phone rang and she quickly picked it up. Tucker looked up at her and he could see the change in her demeanor.

"Swing by and pick me up. See you in ten," she finished the call.

"What happened?" Ed asked.

"Our victim died twenty minutes ago," Olivia heaved a sigh.


	8. Chapter 8

"So he said for you to call me an asshole huh? I don't know about you but he's getting a little too friendly if you know what I mean," Elliot chuckled. He'd just picked Olivia up and the two were headed down to the Medical Examiner's Office.

"There we go again, being on more than friendly terms with IAB. Why do I feel like we're going to end up owing Tucker for something?" She wondered.

"I think he saw the Deputy Chief's intrusion as someone getting in on his turf. Then when he realized that Robertson was dirty, he made it his mission to protect the unit. Fact of the matter is, no matter how much trouble we cause, no one in our unit is actually dirty," he said.

"Very true. So did Fin get a confirmation on our victim's identity?" Olivia switched gears.

"Yes. Sandy Thompkins is our victim. Fin says he doesn't think Gerald Franz had anything to do with her death. If anything, someone is trying to set him up," Elliot said.

"Did Gerald provide names of people he think would do that?" His partner asked.

"Munch seems to think that Gerald knows who could have done this but given they killed his sometime girlfriend, he's scared and not talking. They brought him back to the precinct to see if they could get him to open up," he filled her in.

"We have a sicko on our hands if they used Sandy to get to Gerald. The guy isn't a big time crook so I can't imagine he pissed someone off that badly, they'd go after his girlfriend," Olivia frowned.

"Maybe Gerald saw something and doesn't even realize its significance. Someone else could think he knows too much," Elliot shrugged as he pulled into the Medical Examiner's Office parking lot.

"Could be," she agreed as they climbed out of the car. Heading inside, they met up with Melinda. She had Sandy on the table and was about halfway through her exam.

"You guys are a little early. I said I would start the exam, not that I know anything yet," Melinda said.

"We think the DNA we found was planted and our real criminal is still out there," Elliot said.

"Ah well that is good to know but between her beating, the being flung out of a moving vehicle, and everything the hospital did to try and save her, it's going to take me a bit to narrow down the cause of death," the coroner heaved a sigh.

"And we completely understand that but we were just wondering if there was anything you've found that could lead us somewhere. As you can imagine our first suspect is a little nervous," Olivia told her.

"I bet. The only thing that I can tell you is that underneath the bruises our girl had quite a few tattoos," Melinda said.

"While fascinating, I'm not sure that helps," Elliot frowned.

"One of them matches one that was on another girl who was on my table not too long ago. She wasn't thrown out of a moving car though. Mercifully, her end was quick," the coroner told him before pointing Olivia to a file on the computer table while Elliot looked at the tattoo in question. Olivia headed to the table, scooped up the file, and read it. The victim from the file had had her throat cut. The picture of the tattoo matched the one that Elliot was looking at – a unique design of a serpent. Olivia was unsure if it was Chinese or not.

"Seems like the boys at the two-seven have been busy with the girl you mentioned," she said.

"Maybe you should see what they have," Melinda dropped a hint.

"We see how it is. Kick us out, why don't ya?" Elliot teased as he and Olivia headed for the door.

"I'll call you, please don't call me!" Melinda called after them.


	9. Chapter 9

Olivia and Elliot walked into the two-seven precinct and were met by Lupo and Bernard, who were on their way out of the building. The latter partners were on their way out to track down a lead but turned around when the SVU detectives asked about their case.

"So you guys just wanted more after our last run-in huh?" Lupo teased, as he sat down at his desk, grabbing out some of the files, he'd stashed in his desk.

"Well you know we just don't have enough to keep us busy…" Elliot smirked but wondered why the detective thought it necessary to hide paperwork in his drawer.

"Uh huh, right. So you have a girl with a serpent tattoo. Warner thought they looked the same?" Bernard asked.

"Sandy Tompkins, raped, beaten, thrown from a moving car into the hospital parking lot. Her on again, off again boyfriend is either being set up or is a really good liar. The name Gerald Franz ever come up in your investigation?" Olivia wanted to know.

"Nope. Far as we can figure, our victim, Ying Yue Jiang, did not have a boyfriend and worked a regular day job in a Chinese restaurant owned by her parents. Until we talked to you, we figured the tattoo was unique – plus it was the only one our victim had," Lupo shrugged.

"Any idea what the tattoo is? It seems odd that it would not signify something important since two girls have it. Sandy had multiple tattoos but this one sticks out since none of the others she has matches it. Also, she's African American and the serpent would seem to be Chinese. While not unheard of, of course, it just seemed very out of place," Olivia told them.

"You have pictures of Sandy's tattoos?" Bernard asked. Elliot nodded and handed the file they had brought to him. He frowned while flipping through the file.

"Anything you recognize?" Elliot wondered.

"No gang tattoos but it might not hurt to run it by gang intel," Bernard said.

"Fin already sent Kenny down to see what he can dig up," Olivia spoke up.

"The serpent has many different meanings in China. It can be the devil incarnate or it can be an omen of good luck. We were about to meet up with OCCB to see if this particular serpent came up in the Chinese Tongs," Lupo explained. Olivia remembered reading about Tongs in the NYPD newsletters. Tongs were formed by groups of Chinese immigrants when they arrived in the United States and other countries. They can be just secret societies but they can also be a way to cover up criminal activity and as such are monitored by OCCB.

"We should probably go together. Our cases could be linked and we could have a serious problem on our hands," Elliot said.

"Anyone who is a member of a Tong won't talk to non-Chinese so let's hope we don't have to go down that rabbit hole. Hopefully, it's just someone trying to cover their tracks," Lupo frowned.

"They seem sophisticated and organized so I'm willing to bet that it's a group of people. They're making it known to not mess with them," Olivia shook her head and quickly picked up her phone to alert the Captain to their movements. The four detectives headed out to their vehicles and would follow each other down to OCCB's main headquarters.

"So what does the Captain have to say?" Elliot asked.

"We may end up handing this case over if it turns out its Tong related. They'd be best to handle it. As for Gerald, he is still not talking so he definitely knows something. He's asked for a lawyer though so we're dead in the water," she said.

"Great," her partner frowned as they pulled into a space behind Lupo and Bernard's car. The four detectives climbed out of their vehicles and headed inside, unaware of what was going to happen next.


	10. Chapter 10

"That's twice in just a few days Melinda," Munch said as he and Fin climbed out of their car. With Olivia and Elliot at OCCB and Kenny at the gang unit, the other two detectives had to respond when a call came in.

"I'm beginning to see a pattern here," Warner said without looking up from the body that had been found by a dumpster in a back alley, not far from Chinatown.

"That's probably not a good thing," Fin frowned.

"No, I'd say not. The first thing I did was look for a tattoo and I found one. More and more they seem like a brand and not something the girls got willingly," the medical examiner told them.

"What connects these victims? The two-seven had a Chinese woman, our first victim was African-American, and this girl is barely legal and white," Munch shook his head.

"The only thing that connects them so far is the tattoo," Fin said.

"This victim is much younger than the other two though. Unlike Miss Jiang and like Miss Thompkins, this poor girl was brutalized and raped," Melinda frowned. The young woman had been beaten with a cylindrical object and her body showed signs of almost more purple skin than white skin.

"So the Chinese victim got a quick death while the others were long drawn out tortuous deaths. That begs the question, why go after Miss Jiang at all?" Fin wondered.

"Maybe she saw something she wasn't supposed to or maybe Miss Jiang isn't the first victim. Probably better run the MO through the system and see what happens," Munch suggested.

"Our first two victims had clean records – one worked for her folks and the other was a bank teller. How much you want to bet this girl doesn't have a record either?" Fin asked.

"I'm calling Olivia and Elliot. They need to know what is going on. I have a sneaking suspicion that this has little to do with a Chinese Tong or any other gang," his partner said.

"What makes you say that?" Melinda wanted to know.

"Marking the victim is a classic serial killer move. He gets what he wants out of them and then kills them. The tattoo comes after to let the police know that the victims are his," Munch said.

"So maybe Miss Jiang was his first and when she was dead too quickly, he decided to have a little more fun," Fin said. Munch only nodded and held his phone up to his ear, hoping to catch Olivia.

"That was Munch. He says they have another victim and she was marked like the others," Olivia told the group when she got off the phone.

"Well we'll keep an eye out for anyone using that serpent tattoo for you. Sorry we couldn't be more helpful," OCCB Detective Saunders said.

"We appreciate it. Meantime, I think you guys should head to our precinct and we'll go over everything. Our Captain and your Captain probably need to talk," Elliot suggested.

"We'll call him on the way over," Lupo nodded. The group thanked Saunders for his help and then headed to their vehicles. That's when Elliot's phone rang and he quickly answered it. Olivia noticed that he'd stopped in his tracks and she moved back toward him.

"I'll be there as soon as I can, I promise," with that he hung up.

"What is it?" Olivia asked, concerned by the look on his face.

"Kathleen just tried to kill herself," he said. It was obvious that he was in no shape to drive and Olivia grabbed the keys from his hand.

"Which hospital?" She wanted to know.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big shout to the show for getting renewed for season 21!

Olivia dropped Elliot at the door and she quickly went in search of a parking space. Her thoughts buzzed around in her head, unsure of what exactly had happened and why made her all the more nervous. Finding a spot, she parked the car and headed inside quickly, texting Cragen as she went.

Finding the nurses' station and flashing her badge, the nurse pointed to the elevator and told her what floor. Elliot must have flashed his badge when he walked in. The ride to the fifth floor seemed to take an eternity but finally the doors opened and she exited out into the hallway. Again she found the nurses' station but was directed to the waiting room. Family only she was told. Heaving a sigh, she walked down the hall and found the waiting room.

"Long day and it's not looking any better huh?" A man across the room asked. He appeared to be not much older than she or Elliot though his gray hair made her wonder.

"Yeah," Olivia heaved a sigh as she plopped down in the seat closest to the door. That's when she noticed that they were the only two in the room. The fifth floor was a specialized unit so she supposed that wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

"My wife is in surgery. They haven't updated me much," he frowned.

"I'm sorry," she really didn't want to strike up a conversation but she felt bad for the man at the same time. He seemed to sense her unwillingness to talk and didn't say anything more. The detective felt her phone buzz and she looked at the text message.

_Let us know if you need anything. We're working the case with Lupo and Bernard so don't worry about rushing back_ , Cragen had said.

_Keep you posted. Waiting to hear from Elliot what happened_ , she sent back. Then she pocketed the phone and heaved a smaller sigh. The waiting was driving her nuts. While she and Kathleen had been unable to find common ground, she still looked at the young girl as her own.

That's when Elliot walked into the room. She smiled slightly, trying to help ease the look of concern that crossed her partner's face. Standing, she pulled him into a hug, whispering in his ear,

"It's going to be ok." He kissed her neck.

"She took her entire bottle of pills. They had to pump her stomach. The medicine was supposed to help her and all it did was make her try to end her life," his tone was quiet as if he had no idea how to process his own words. It was hard to swallow given the former Marine's usually confident demeanor.

"Then they adjust her medication and try something else. She'll get better," Olivia told him.

"When she's able, they have her scheduled for a meeting with the hospital psychiatrist and they're calling her doctor too. They're hoping for some insight but I don't know how much that will help. Kathy just told me that our daughter has been less than helpful with Doctor Schwartz," he said. She knew that on some level Elliot was embarrassed by his daughter's behavior but she also knew that despite him trying to hide it, his mother had issues.

"Maybe you should call your Mom. She'd want to know her granddaughter is in the hospital," Olivia suggested. He nodded and the two of them left the room – he to make a call to his mother and her to check on Kathleen. Olivia felt if she showed she had shown up at the hospital, that maybe, just maybe, Kathleen would warm up to her a little bit.

Neither one of them had noticed the look on the man's face from his seat across the room. A slight smirk resided there along with a serpent tattoo on the back of his hand.


	12. Chapter 12

Elliot had not wanted to leave Kathleen's side and Olivia didn't blame him. However, she did not want to cause the girl any more distress and her presence seemed to do that. Sitting back in the waiting room after a coffee run, she realized that she was alone in the room. Perhaps the man from earlier had finally heard about his wife, it had been a few hours. She didn't give it another thought but she did call her Captain.

"How bad is it?" Were the first words out of his mouth.

"They had to pump her stomach and she not really in a talkative mood. The nurses gave her a write and wipe board to communicate but it only seems to be used to tell her parents to leave her alone," Olivia heaved a sigh.

"All right, well stay with them. Melinda ID'd our latest victim. Ashley Brunner, a sixteen year old runaway from Connecticut. We're having local PD give the notification. Melinda thinks that our runaway was hooking to stay alive. She has signs of long term sexual activity that normally we see in streetwalkers," Cragen informed her.

"How long had Ashley been a runaway?" Olivia was surprised to hear what had just been said.

"She left home at fourteen. I'm having Kenny dive into her parents' background," the Captain said.

"Good grief. So our victimology is all over the map and we're no closer to catching this guy," she heaved a sigh.

"Well only part of that is true. I'm guessing that Ashley was a bit of a whoops on our guy's part. There was a sizeable sample left behind and Melinda is having forensics run it through the system. If our guy is in there we'll have him," Cragen told her.

"You think he got sloppy now? Only way that happens is if he's escalating and losing control," Olivia frowned.

"I think that he's a pimp and one of his girls got out of line. He teaches Ashley a lesson and the other girls never forget it. After all, he was the most violent with her out of the other victims. Perhaps he figured his tattoo would go unseen or perhaps he didn't care. He did dump her near a dumpster," the Captain said.

"Like the trash he felt she was," Olivia nodded.

"Exactly," he agreed.

"I think we need to focus on Ashley's case and then see if perhaps that leads us to how our perp met Sandy and Ying. The dumpster may not have been inside the sphere of our pimp's influence but perhaps where he works is. Maybe he tried to convert Ying and Sandy into his girls and they fought back too much or rejected his advances," she said.

"Ashley is the case we have the most leads on anyway. I'll keep you looped," Cragen said.

"Thanks Cap. I will do the same," with that the phone call ended. Olivia sipped on her now almost cold coffee, trying to focus her attention on the case, when someone walked into the room.

"Hi Liv," it was Maureen.

"Hi sweetie. What are you doing here? Who's watching Lizzie and Dickie?" Olivia asked.

"They both went over to visit friends. I know Kathleen wouldn't want to see her like this and I promised to keep them updated. Hopefully their friends will keep them distracted," the oldest Stabler child said as she sat down next to her father's partner.

"Probably not a bad call. If you want to see her, she's just down the hall. She's upset and won't talk to your folks or me but maybe she'd talk to you," Olivia said.

"Oh I doubt it. She probably views me as the snitch for calling the ambulance. Are they going to be able to help her?" The concern in Maureen's voice was evident.

"I'm sure they will be able to," the detective said, hoping she was right.


	13. Chapter 13

Olivia swung open her front door and walked a little into the apartment. Elliot was right behind her. Visiting hours at the hospital had ended and they'd been forced to go home. He hadn't said much on the way back to her place and Olivia didn't want to press. She knew that there was nothing she could say that he hadn't heard before and as the girlfriend, she could only stick her nose into family business so far.

"We should get something to eat. I think the last thing I had to eat was that stale donut the nurses offered me," she said, kicking off her shoes, taking off her jacket, and making sure the front door is locked.

"You're probably right," he muttered as he too kicked off his shoes and pulled off his jacket. Surprised he wasn't fighting her; she pulled out her phone, and called up the pizza place down the street. Inwardly she chuckled when the boy recognized her voice, called her by name, and promised to be there within thirty minutes.

"It's coming. Meantime, you want a beer?" Olivia asked.

"Yes, I do," Elliot nodded before collapsing onto the couch.

"Coming right up," she said. Heading for the fridge, she opened it, and went for the six-pack on the back of the appliance's shelf. Cracking them open, she headed for the sofa, and handed him one before taking a swig of her own. Then she joined him on the couch after setting down her beer on a coaster on the coffee table. Elliot slammed down the beer she'd handed him only moments before and set the empty down on the coffee table.

"You won't find the answers at the bottom of the bottle. Believe me," Olivia told him, putting her head on his shoulder. He heaved a sigh, knowing what she meant and wrapped an arm around her back.

"No but I'm hoping for some of the pain to subside," Elliot frowned, as his head came to rest on hers.

"Let me help you. Let me in El. We're more than just on the job partners. We're in this for the long haul. I love you and I love your kids," she said, her hand sat on his thigh.

"There is just so much running through my head right now. I love you and I promise I will let you in, I just need to wrap my own brain around it," his admission surprised her. Normally his tough exterior was matched by his tough interior. Elliot was used to burying things until he exploded. Olivia had noticed slight changes in his behavior as their full partnership began to evolve but this was his biggest step forward.

She moved her head from his shoulder and looked into his eyes. She could see the storm brewing in them. In that moment, the rest of the world fell away and she pressed her lips to his. He pulled her close, deepening the kiss. What started as an innocent kiss soon moved into roving hands and they lost track of time until the doorbell interrupted them. Olivia chuckled and got up off the couch and went to the door.

"Hi Miss Olivia," the pizza delivery boy smiled.

"They got you answering the phones and making the deliveries?" The detective asked. The teenager standing in front of her was most definitely the voice she'd often heard over the phone.

"End of my shift, told them I'd make your delivery. Mom and I live above the parlor so it's not like I can't drop your money off," he smiled broadly.

"Well it is much appreciated," Olivia gave him enough money for a decent tip and he thanked profusely before leaving.

"So he has a crush on you," Elliot chuckled as he brought over paper plates from the cupboard.

"Well I'm already taken. I'll let him down easy next time," she smirked as she set the pizza box down on the table. Elliot kissed her temple before they settled in with their dinner on the sofa.


	14. Chapter 14

"What are you two doing here?" Munch asked as Elliot and Olivia walked into the precinct the next morning.

"I'm dropping Liv off and then I'm talking to the Captain. His door is closed. What's going on?" Elliot responded.

"Turns out that Ashley's parents weren't deadbeats. They drove all the way here to come claim her body from autopsy and see where the case stood," Munch filled them in.

"What made her run away then?" Olivia asked.

"Kenny found nothing in the background check so I'm imagining that Mr. and Mrs. Brunner are telling the Captain the scoop," the elder detective said.

"Speaking of which, where is Kenny? Is Fin with him?" Elliot wondered.

"Those two are tracking down a lead. The DNA that Melinda found popped in the system. Turns out our suspect is on parole and they're hoping to speak to his parole officer before we storm the castle," Munch explained.

"Who is he?" Olivia wanted to know.

"Our guy is George Berns. I think you'll find his list and pictures of his tattoos very interesting," Munch handed her the file they had and she almost had a heart attack. The file fell out of her hands and hit the floor.

"What is it Liv?" Elliot looked at her surprised by her reaction. Munch was sitting there with his mouth hanging open.

"That son of a bitch was at the hospital! He claimed he was waiting for his wife to get out of surgery!" She finally managed as she watched her partner pick the file up off the floor.

"The hospital? As in the one where my daughter is hospital?" Elliot paled slightly.

"That's the one," Olivia said.

"You two go get the security camera footage before they wipe it. Berns doesn't have a wife so see if you can find out who he was visiting. I'll alert the Captain and Fin and Kenny," Munch told them. They didn't need to be told twice and the two started running to the elevator. The elder detective hated to interrupt the parents while they were talking to the Captain but he figured that he shouldn't wait. They might need to get a protective detail at Kathleen's door or move her to a different hospital. Knocking on the door, he waited until he heard the Captain bade him to enter the room.

"Sorry to interrupt but I need to speak with you," Munch said.

"Do you have a lead on who did this to our daughter?" Mr. Brunner asked.

"Urgent police business I'm afraid but we'll keep you posted," the Sergeant gave them a slight smile and Cragen quickly excused himself for a moment so that he and his senior detective could talk.

Munch quickly gave him everything he knew given the latest development. He could see that the Captain wasn't thrilled by the new developments.

"Tell Elliot and Olivia not to leave Kathleen's side and have Fin and Kenny pick up the security tapes and any sign in log book. Hopefully, they got something from his parole officer. If this guy finds out we're onto him, he'll disappear and then go on killing more women," Cragen told him.

"On it. Couldn't we violate his parole though? Sleeping with an underage girl and that girl turns up dead has to be some sort of violation," Munch pointed out.

"Call Casey. See if we can at least get her to bring statutory rape charges against him – if we can't violate his parole," Cragen nodded.

"You got it," Munch nodded and quickly got to work while the Captain headed back into his office to finish up with Ashley's parents.


	15. Chapter 15

Kathleen was surprised as her father entered the room with his partner in tow. Olivia was carrying a bag that the hospital hands out for a patient's clothes. The see-thru bag contained evidence bags that the female detective had marked with her signature. Elliot looked as though he was concerned and his first words to his daughter were,

"Has anyone not family or medical staff, come in here?" Kathleen's throat was a little better but not well enough to speak a lot so she wrote down her response on the write and wipe board,

_No. Why?_

"Part of a case we're working. Did you see this man while they were taking you to therapy?" Olivia pulled out the picture of George Berns from her coat pocket and showed it to Kathleen.

_No. Who is he? Why would he care about me?_  Was the response.

"We're not sure if he was here for you or not, he was in the waiting room the other day and we're checking into him," Elliot smiled slightly at his daughter and squeezed her shoulder. Olivia's phone chirped and she quickly checked the text messages.

"Fin and Kenny are on their way up to grab the tapes and sign–in log," she told her partner.

"Ok good," he smiled tightly but underneath the smile, she could see he was ready to blow a gasket. The thought that Berns had even been in a room that was down the hall from his daughter made him nervous, especially given what they knew about him.

_Shouldn't you be out chasing him?_  Kathleen wanted to know.

"Munch, Fin, and Kenny are on it. Plus we've got two more detectives from the two-seven helping out. Not to worry. How are you feeling?" Olivia asked her as she took a seat in the chair next to the bed; the bag of evidence went between her feet. She hoped that she could get through to the troubled girl. All she got was a shrug.

"You don't have to feel better instantaneously. This will be a process but I'm here to listen if you need me," the detective patted the young girl's hand to reassure her.

_Even after what I said and did to you?_  She wrote.

"Of course. I'm not trying to replace your mom; I just want to be here for you in any capacity you need me to be. Eventually, I hope that our relationship can become one built on trust and love," Olivia smiled. She could see tears in Kathleen's eyes. It was obvious that the young girl was in need of help and finally admitting it. What Olivia couldn't see was the look on Elliot's face. If he hadn't already been in love with his partner, he would have been after that statement.

Kathleen moved her hand and put it around Olivia's and gave it a squeeze. No words were needed, that was enough. The cute family moment was broken up as Fin and Kenny entered the room.

"Hey guys, here to take the tapes and sign-in log. Bernard and Lupo are on Berns' tail right now. Just waiting for word from Casey to pick him up," Fin said. Elliot moved them closer to the door after Olivia handed over the bag of evidence.

"What's the plan? We don't have enough to nail him for murder," he said.

"The idiot's out on parole. Statutory rape of Ashley is enough to violate him and get him off the street but Casey wanted to have parole make an unscheduled stop at his house while he was out. Munch and a squad of officers were helping the parole office with that. Lupo promised to call once they had our guy in custody," Fin told him.

"He was so careful with the first two victims, it would make you think that he'd have been smarter about Ashley," Elliot frowned.

"Well given the beating that Sandy Tompkins took, Huang thinks that women who fight back set him off. Ying Yue might have believed him if he told her that he'd let her go or maybe he had a weapon, so she was too afraid," Kenny explained.

"That would do it. All right, keep us posted," Elliot said.


	16. Chapter 16

Elliot had headed out to get coffee for Olivia and himself when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He fished it out and looked at the message from Fin.  _Berns has been picked up. Lawyered up as soon as he could._  Elliot heaved a sigh and replied with –  _Of course he did. Liv and I will head in._  The detective swiveled on his heels and headed back towards his daughter's room. He was about to enter the room when he heard Olivia talking to Kathleen.

"I understand about wanting to keep something hidden. I spent most of my childhood hiding things from everyone around me," his partner said. He immediately knew what she was talking about.

"It's a long story, which I will share with you, but perhaps it would be better to do so when you can talk again. Right now, you just need to focus on getting better and getting out of here. Once you're at home, we can talk for as long as we need with no interruptions. Maybe just make it a girl's day, just me and you," Olivia said. Kathleen must have liked that idea because he heard the chair that his partner was sitting in, move. Elliot took his opportunity and entered the room to find the two hugging as best they could.

"It's good to see my girls getting along," he smiled. The two pulled apart and gave him a look.

"What? I think we all know how I feel about everyone in this room," he said.

"Very true but if I'm your girl, where's my coffee?" Liv teased.

"They caught the guy. We need to head in," Elliot explained.

"Excellent. Sorry we have to run kiddo," the brunette turned back to the younger girl. Kathleen scribbled on her board,

_Nail him to the wall._

"Oh we intend to. Your mom should be by in a little bit and Maureen promised to bring Lizzie and Dickie later too," Elliot moved over to the bed and kissed his daughter on the forehead. Kathleen smiled and the two left the room.

"I thought you guys would stay at the hospital," Munch said as they walked into the bullpen.

"We need to nail this guy. What did Casey say?" Elliot asked.

"Well we have him cold on statutory. Casey figures we may be able to tack on kidnapping seeing as Berns kept Ashley here under threat. Once he turned her into a working girl, it wasn't as if she could just leave," Munch told them.

"That buys us the rest of his sentence for violating parole and of course the trial for statutory to figure out how we can tie him to the other two victims," Elliot nodded.

"I've been thinking and I think we're going to hit a snag with Sandy Thompkins," Olivia spoke up.

"Lay it on us," Fin encouraged.

"Well our guy has a rage problem right? At no point during her kidnapping did Ying Yue fight back or say something that pissed Berns off? I find that hard to believe. No matter how polite someone is, when they're afraid and don't know their kidnapper's trigger, they will say or do something to upset them," she started.

"So perhaps the rage he displayed was cutting Ying Yue's throat? He didn't sexually assault her like the others," Kenny said.

"That's what I'm thinking so that makes Sandy Thompkins the outlier. Ying Yue was found in a park. Ashley near a dumpster. Sandy was thrown from a moving vehicle at the hospital with another man's DNA inside of her," Olivia pointed out.

"Ying Yue's killer left no evidence and in Sandy and Ashley's cases there was too much evidence. Yet somehow they're all tied together by that tattoo. There is definitely something we're missing," Fin nodded.

"We have to assume that someone interfered with Sandy Thompkins. Either they found her and then drove her to the hospital or someone is screwing with us. Gerald Franz was afraid of someone," she said.

"Get him back in here. Maybe if he hears that Berns has been put back in a cage, he'll talk," Cragen ordered.


	17. Chapter 17

"Gerald, come on man. We know that you know more than you're telling us. Help us, help you. I would hate to have to violate you for not cooperating," Fin pressed the man who had been in a relationship with Sandy Thompkins. Surprisingly, Gerald had agreed to come down to the station, but then again, he was probably trying to avoid the one thing that Fin just mentioned.

"Do you recognize this guy? He likes putting tattoos on the ladies he assaults. We have him in custody so you don't have to worry about him coming after you," Munch showed him the picture of Berns and the tattoo.

"Sandy didn't have that tattoo but she did say there was a dude who kept bothering her. It could be him," Gerald admitted.

"Now why didn't you tell us that earlier?" Fin wanted to know.

"Man I got myself all jammed up. I figured the guy works for my bookie," Gerald heaved a sigh.

"Your bookie? Gerald, that isn't keeping your nose clean," Munch shook his head.

"I didn't want you to violate me and send me back. I can't go back in," the parolee said.

"So what's the deal with your bookie?" Fin asked.

"I owe him five hundred and I can't pay. The job I got barely covers my bills. Sandy was helping me squirrel away some money so I could pay him off. She said that once I got clear of him, I couldn't gamble no more or she'd leave me. That last night we were together, I promised her and then the next day she was in the hospital. I figured instead of breaking my legs, they broke hers, you know?" Gerald explained.

"They only way they know who she is, is if they followed you. Seems an awful lot of work for a guy that you only owe five hundred to," Munch pressed.

"I've owed him that since before I went in. The interest is probably double that or more," Gerald admitted, his head was practically touching the interrogation room table at this point.

"Ok now we're getting somewhere. There's something you're still not telling us, though. How would they get your DNA? We know our guy did more than just beat Sandy up. Why would they want to frame you?" Fin wanted to know.

"Look, we had our fun and then I left. That's all I know!" Gerald told them.

"All right. Sit tight. We'll be back," Munch said. The two detectives went out into the hallway where Elliot and Olivia were standing. Bernard and Lupo were working with Kenny out in the bullpen trying to see if the two borrowed detectives had ideas about the case.

"So Gerald didn't see the tattoo which means that Berns must have made contact with Sandy after she and Gerald parted ways," Elliot said.

"You remember how there was a trash can inside Sandy's apartment but it had no bag in it? At first, we didn't think anything of it but I'm wondering if there was a reason for it," Olivia had this look on her face like the pieces of the puzzle were coming together. The victim's apartment had been searched as a matter of finding the crime scene but it had obviously been cleaned. So that made her wonder if Berns had been the one to drop Sandy at the hospital as a taunt to the NYPD.

"You think that the condom that Gerald used was in that bag. We need to talk to the rest of the team," Munch started moving toward the bullpen and they followed him.

"Get something out of Gerald?" Lupo wondered.

"Munch is having some sort of epiphany, hang on a sec," Fin said. Everyone backed away from the board and let Munch take over.

"Ying Yue was killed in the commission of what we could assume is an assault. She said or did something that pissed our guy off. He slits her throat and then leaves her in the park.

Sandy Thompkins was in fact assaulted, beat up, and dumped at the hospital. She dies from her injuries.

Ashley Brunner worked for our perp. Assaulted, beaten, dumped near but not in the dumpster," he said.

"Yeah we know," Elliot rolled his eyes.

"Ashley was just a means to an end. She'd pissed him off for the last time. He made a show of leaving her body out in the open. Her tattoo is old and an actual tattoo. Kenny, did you call Melinda and ask her what I wanted?" Munch ignored him.

"Yes. She figures that Ying Yue and Sandy's tattoos were not actual ink like a standard tattoo but something like henna or a semi-permanent one. Our killer wouldn't have had enough time to make an actual tattoo like Ashley's. Plus they would have needed to be unconscious or dead for him to apply it and have it look right," Kenny said.

"So if he had a semi-permanent ones he might have bought them in bulk or had them custom designed or something," Fin nodded.

"We can run that down. I have a connection in Vice who could lead me to girls that Berns had working for him," Bernard spoke up.

"You guys go. I'm pretty sure you won't want to hear what I was about to say anyway," Munch said.

"Why?" Lupo asked.

"Back when I was in Baltimore, we had this guy who was under the impression, he could reuse condoms by turning them inside out and washing them," the elder detective told them.

"You're right. I didn't wanna know," Bernard gagged at the implication.

"So you think that Berns fished the condom out of the trash can and used it, minus the washing, to throw off anyone who found Sandy's body?" Olivia was trying to hold down the bile rising in her throat.

"Explains why Sandy has the tattoo and Gerald's little swimmers and why that bag would be missing. Though that is the nastiest thing I have ever heard. Please tell me you caught the guy," Fin said.

"Oh we did. His little plan backfired on the second victim. Rape kit provided a good sample and we nailed him in short order because he had a record and was in the system," Munch chuckled.

"It kind of fits though because his first crime scene was devoid of evidence, partially because where she was found was not the murder scene. I say we canvass Sandy's building again," Elliot told them. Olivia felt her phone buzz. She pulled it out and read the message.

"Go ahead. I have to see Tucker," she said.


	18. Chapter 18

Elliot walked in the door of the apartment to find Olivia sitting on the couch. She was reading something and didn't even look up. He frowned but he made sure the door was locked as he took off his shoes and coat.

"Anything good in those files?" He asked, finally breaking Olivia from her reverie.

"Well Tucker was able to eliminate three more profiles. He's still trying to figure out the last three, including Lieutenant Baker," she explained.

"Baker is like a bad penny huh?" Elliot chuckled as he set the Chinese food down on an unoccupied portion of the coffee table.

"I guess so. Thank you for bringing dinner. How goes the case?" Olivia quickly changed the subject and her partner took notice.

"Lupo and Bernard are busy chasing down ladies of the evening with Vice. We canvassed Sandy's apartment building. No one noticed Berns. It seems like a building where they keep to themselves and don't ask questions of their neighbors," Elliot frowned as he headed into the kitchen for some liquid refreshment.

"So we have to hope the tattoo angle works. We tie him to the tattoos and it won't matter if we have his DNA or not," she said, pulling the bag of Chinese food open and taking the food out.

"Well I'm sure that Casey would like more but given she has him for statutory and violating parole, he may want to make a deal. Cragen spoke with Huang because he was concerned the guy might try a psych defense," he told her as he set the beers he'd snagged from the fridge down onto a couple of coasters. Then he took a seat next to her.

"He does seem to have a hair trigger but he's also a pimp so that isn't much of a surprise. What makes me wonder is why he branched out into people who would be noticed. Both Ying Yue and Sandy were upstanding citizens and had people who would have called the police when they went missing. Being a pimp, even if he didn't use his girls, he'd know where to look for others in the business," Olivia said.

"Maybe he wanted victims that hadn't spent years earning money from strange men and whatever diseases they carried," Elliot shrugged.

"Could be but how many times have you seen a serial rapist start with a high profile victim?" She wondered as she handed him a pair of chopsticks.

"So maybe he did start with other pros. I mean are they going to report it? Not likely and he wouldn't have to kill them," he agreed.

"That also makes them next to impossible to find," Olivia frowned.

"Speaking of impossible, there is no way you spent three hours with Tucker and only talked about the three people he eliminated from the list," Elliot circled the topic back around. She heaved a sigh and said,

"No, not exactly." Knowing that he would not be satisfied with that answer, she immediately continued,

"He thinks I should talk to Lieutenant Baker."

"I thought he said that was a bad idea," Elliot gave her a look.

"Well he's done his complete IAB dive and cannot figure out how someone squeaky clean like her landed on a dirty as the day is long Deputy Chief's list. He wonders if she was being blackmailed or she's related to him in some way. He's not listed on her family list but that doesn't mean she left him off, afraid he'd sink her career," Olivia explained.

"So a little woman to woman talk may loosen her lips huh?" He wondered.

"Maybe. Truth be told, it's looking like she's the only one left. The other two on the list weren't under scrutiny until after the Deputy Chief was caught. Tucker is talking to the guys in his squad looking into them tomorrow. I will need to speak to Baker tomorrow before she finds out that IAB is digging around. Once she gets her back up, then any chance of a nice conversation goes out the window," she said. Elliot nodded and they tucked into their food, the only sounds in the apartment were the sounds of people eating.

"That was delicious and I definitely inhaled it," Elliot chuckled.

"Well I can't remember eating lunch so that would explain that," Olivia smirked.

"Yeah we kind of missed out which is why I'm glad I saved some room for dessert," Elliot waggled his eyebrows.

"Somehow I don't think you mean the fortune cookies," she teased.

"Not unless you count the gorgeous woman sitting next to me a fortune cookie," he leaned over and pressed his lips to hers. It had been awhile since they'd been able to have some time alone without the case or his kids.

"Well then I suggest we move dessert to the bedroom," she teased when they pulled apart. Elliot quickly stood up, scooped her up off the couch, and headed down the hall.

"What's the rush cowboy? We should have all night," Olivia laughed.

"Not if we don't get to the bed we won't," Elliot smirked.


	19. Chapter 19

"Thanks for meeting me," Olivia smiled at the Lieutenant. The two had met in a diner, not far from Baker's precinct. So far they had just ordered coffee but Olivia had been eyeballing an egg sandwich listed on the menu.

"No problem. I'm a little unsure as to why you wanted to meet me. I have to admit you seem like you should be more than just a detective by now. Your career is impressive," Amy replied from her side of the booth. She was almost six foot tall with blonde hair and dressed impeccably. The almost fifteen years on the force had made her a little tougher than most but she maintained her femininity with light makeup and tasteful lipstick color.

"I like being in the trenches. I do the most good there. Though technically, I am a sergeant," Olivia smiled.

"Well let's not pretend we didn't do some research on each other. We've been on this job too long not to of," Amy smirked.

"Agreed. The reason I needed to talk to you was, the Commissioner. Not sure if you knew but you had been put in for the position as his assistant," the detective told her.

"Oh really. That is news to me. I'm guessing you're on the list as well then?" The look of surprise was genuine.

"I am but I was given an extra assignment since I'm only a Sergeant. The list was regrettably made up by Deputy Chief Robertson and I was tasked with running through the list," Olivia felt she couldn't pull any punches with the woman who cat across from her.

"Ah Deputy Chief Robertson," she said the name with a hint of venom.

"He made the NYPD look bad so as you can imagine, the Commissioner wants someone who is qualified for the job but is also not in someone's pocket. You're as squeaky clean as they come so that bothered me that Robertson put you on the list. The others on there, well let's just say most of them need to be out of a job," the detective said.

"Making me a shoo-in until you came along. Judging the competition?" Amy asked.

"Hardly. Like I said, I want to remain in the trenches. The job is all yours except…"

"Except for the fact that Robertson selected me," Baker nodded. The waitress came by and Olivia ordered that sandwich and Amy ordered a bagel with cream cheese.

"Did he have something on you? Are you related to him? I completely understand if you don't want to tell me but being the assistant to the Commissioner is quite the bump in pay grade and prestige," Olivia admitted. Amy heaved a sigh and stared down into her coffee.

"What I tell you doesn't need to go further than this booth does it?" She asked.

"Unless you need to be kicked off the force, my lips are sealed," Olivia told her. Amy nodded before continuing,

"Early on in my career… one of my fellow patrol officers started hitting on me. I asked him to stop and told him if he did not, I would report him to the Sergeant. He told a few other officers that I was a stuck up bitch and then I started getting notes on my locker. Some officers didn't want to ride with me and the Sergeant backed their play. I was one of the only women in the precinct at the time. Eventually, the Lieutenant stepped in without me even asking. He disciplined the officers involved and the Sergeant and told them that unless they wanted to be out on their asses, he suggested they straighten up and fly right.

"The disciplined officers didn't exactly like his suggestion and one day when I was leaving the precinct, two of them jumped me. I was around the corner of the building on the way to the subway and I screamed hoping that someone would hear me," Amy swallowed hard and Olivia knew what was probably next. The waitress dropped off their food right then and Amy seemed relieved for a moment or two.

"As I was getting beat on, I tried to fight back and then suddenly the men attacking me were themselves being attacked. A few of my fellow officers had heard me scream and they pulled the men off of me. My memories are a little fuzzy after that. I woke up in the hospital. I had a concussion, a broken arm, multiple cuts and bruises, and sitting next to me was the Lieutenant. He apologized profusely to me, feeling as though this was his fault. I told him it wasn't. We were interrupted by my partner at the time, Nancy. She was one of the officers who had heard me and jumped in to save me. One PP wanted to talk to the Lieutenant and he had this look on his face like the world was coming to an end.

"Nancy made sure that I was comfortable and we got to talking and discovered that we had a lot in common. More than we realized, in fact. So while I was busy falling in love with my partner, the department was cleaning house. Five officers and the Sergeant were fired – the two who attacked me were arrested. My Lieutenant got a slap on the wrist for not intervening sooner. I thought everything was going to improve from there. I thought it was all behind me. I was wrong.

"A few weeks after I got out of the hospital, someone went after Nancy. She was out on patrol with her temporary partner when they were fired upon from a vehicle driving down the block. Luckily Nancy and the other officer weren't seriously hurt but the same people went after the Lieutenant and he wasn't so lucky. Lieutenant Dan Abrams died on the sidewalk – killed by one of the fired officers. When the officer was cornered by detectives, he killed himself.

"None of this, of course, would show up on my record. When I recovered, I was reinstated and have had a great career but I carry the baggage of what happened all those years ago with me. The Deputy Chief somehow found out that Nancy and I started dating while we were partners on the job. He threatened to bring it up to the Commissioner. All the arrests we made, all the rules we broke, and it would be enough to fire me and Nancy quietly. Our careers would be over along with our lives as we know them. But if I ratted on the Commissioner to the Deputy Chief, then he'd keep his mouth shut. I was ready to just quit before Robertson got caught," Amy finished.

"You and Nancy still together?" Olivia asked.

"Yes. I don't know where I'd be without her. I was more than glad to quit, preserving her career. She's up for a promotion to Captain," Amy told her.

"Well I think the Commissioner couldn't do better with his choice. I'll just say that your stellar career made it impossible to put you on Robertson's list," the detective smiled.

"Maybe I should tell him the truth? I could still quit, preserving Nancy's career," the Lieutenant said.

"That's up to you but he won't hear it from me. You and Nancy should make that decision together," Olivia said. Amy nodded and Olivia's phone chirped. She pulled it out and read the message.

"Seems we have our rapist and murderer in the crosshairs and they're hauling into interrogation. I have to run but I'll make sure to speak to the Commissioner in the next few days," the brunette promised.

"Thank you Detective," Amy smiled and watched as Olivia grabbed her sandwich, threw some cash on the table, and then took off.


	20. Chapter 20

"So is he singing like a little bird?" Olivia asked as she walked up to Casey who was watching Munch and Elliot go at George Berns and his attorney.

"Not yet. Seems he needs more incentive. You'd think since he is already going back in, he'd just fess up. Better he makes a deal now than try to later when we have even more evidence on him," Casey said.

"That would indicate you think that we have more evidence to find. Unless I'm not mistaken, the tattoos on our dead girls don't make the case a slam dunk. We never found the car that dumped Sandy at the hospital and we never found the crime scene for Ying Yue's death. If he cleaned up after himself like he did at Sandy's then there basically is a crime scene to find for Ying Yue's murder. Unless you know something I don't…" Olivia gave her a look. Footsteps behind them made them turn around.

"We have something and I think you guys are going to like it," Lupo said.

"And these fine gentlemen are?" Casey raised an eyebrow.

"Lupo and Bernard from the two-seven. They caught Ying Yue's murder case. Guys, this is our ADA Casey Novak," Olivia made introductions and they shook hands.

"Better than tying the tattoos to Berns?" Casey asked.

"Oh much better. Do you want to be surprised or should we just tell you?" Bernard smirked, indicating that they could go into the interrogation room and just lay it on the perp.

"Surprise me," the ADA had a smile on her face and Lupo knocked on the interrogation room door. Elliot opened the door and smiled before letting them in.

"What is this? Gang up on the defendant day?" Berns' lawyer, Samuel Klaus, wanted to know.

"Well you see when we found out our good friends at SVU had our perp, we figured we'd swing by and let them know," Bernard said.

"What are you talking about?" Klaus gave him a look.

"Seems that George here wasn't as slick as he thinks he is. We have a witness to the murder of Ying Yue Jiang. Actually we have multiple witnesses and we found the crime scene where you killed her George. Only a matter of time before the charges against you that these fine detectives have get a murder charge tacked on top. Kind of like a cherry, wouldn't you say Sergeant Munch?" Lupo asked.

"Oh exactly like that. You know what happens to guys who kill nice girls like Ying Yue in prison don't you? From what I hear the Asian gangsters don't take too kindly to the murder of one of their own. Especially by some white guy who likes to appropriate their cultural symbols for his own sick and twisted use," Munch smirked. Suddenly Berns was on his feet, lunging across the table. Elliot jumped up as Bernard and Lupo went in to tackle the suspect. The two managed to get him to his feet and back into his chair. Elliot quickly cuffed him to the table so he couldn't do that again.

"We hit a nerve did we George?" Stabler asked.

"What… are… you offering?" Klaus was obviously rattled.

"Why should we offer him anything? He murdered Ying Yue and I can even make an argument for the murder of Ashley. If he doesn't talk now, we'll add the murder of Sandy Thompkins on as well. Frankly, counselor, I'm not in the mood to play tiddledywinks with your client," Casey told him from the doorway. She figured it was the best time for her to chime in.

"You throw in the statutory and parole violation for free and we'll agree to ten years," Klaus said.

"Ten years for three murders and the rape of a teenage girl? You have to be out of your mind. He does a minimum of thirty years plus what's left on his sentence for the parole violation, two years," Casey told him.

"Give us bone Casey," Klaus argued.

"You're lucky I don't toss in the stalking of Detectives Stabler and Benson. We know you were at that hospital but you signed in with a fake name and Detective Benson ID'd you from your mugshot as the man in the waiting room. So thirty-two is the best you're going to get. You'll need a full allocution in front of a judge so everyone knows what you did," Casey put her foot down.

"Give me a minute with my client," Klaus heaved a sigh. The detectives and ADA exited the room and made sure to turn off the speaker that let them hear into the room.

"Where did you find witnesses and a crime scene?" Fin asked when they exited the room.

"The ladies that Berns kept under his thumb were all too happy to help us get him off the streets. He brought Ying Yue to the house where the girls stay. She started crying for help and he slit her throat right in front of a couple of the girls. They didn't come forward because they knew if they said anything he'd kill them like he killed a lady named Claire. Kenny promised to try and find out if her body was ever discovered or she was reported missing," Lupo explained.

"So in exchange for not scooping them up, they just spilled the beans?" Elliot raised an eyebrow.

"I think more like they saw this as their ticket out of the life. Vice is helping them find their families. Plus they can dish on other pimps in the area. We may be looking at cleaning up quite a few streets," Bernard smiled.

"Well when you guys find anything on this Claire, bring it to me. He doesn't know we know about her," Casey smirked.

"Yes ma'am," Lupo smiled at her. Just then the door to the interrogation room opened.

"He'll take the deal. You want to set up the allocution with the court?" Klaus asked.

"Will do. Detectives, would you please make sure that Mr. Berns gets booked?" Casey asked.

"No problem," Elliot smirked and headed back into the room and Olivia followed. The two led him out to the holding cell and locked him inside.

"I'll tell the Captain the good news and arrange transport to Central Booking," Munch said.

"Thanks guys for helping out," Fin said to Lupo and Bernard.

"Thank you. I'm just glad that we can tell Ying Yue's parents that we got him," Bernard said.

"Sandy and Ashely's families too. They might want to hear Berns admit what he did in court," Olivia smiled slightly. The detectives parted ways and Elliot pulled his partner aside.

"How'd it go with Baker?" He asked.

"Tell you all about it as you drive me to see Tucker," she promised.


	21. Chapter 21

"So clean as a whistle. I do see your point about Baker's career. If Robertson didn't put her on the list it would have been suspicious. Maybe he had something in the works but she wasn't aware of it. Well at any rate, I think that gets you partially off the hook," Tucker said. The three sat in the IAB Lieutenant's office.

"Yes, partially," Olivia agreed.

"So what's the plan?" Elliot asked.

"First, you need to tell Cragen. If shit hits the fan and we need big guns to bring in, it would be better he knew and then he can help make the case. If he doesn't know and the Commissioner asks, it'll look like he wasn't paying attention to his troops. None of this needs to reflect poorly on Cragen, especially with him nearing retirement. And for the love of everything holy, don't tell him I know. Let him call me and talk to me. I'll act all surprised," Tucker told them.

"Ok, I think we can do that. We just nailed our murdering rapist and there's nothing left to do but paperwork," Olivia said.

"Perfect. Now for the tricky part. It's no secret that the Commissioner has been keeping an eye on you and while I wish we could use that to our advantage, I'm not sure we can. If someone finds out that he has been playing favorites, it could be Deputy Chief Robertson all over again," the Lieutenant shook his head.

"So how do we avoid the problem?" Elliot raised an eyebrow.

"Quite simply really – Olivia will now work for me," Tucker smirked.

"Hold up – what now?" The brunette gave him a look.

"If you work for me as an undercover IAB agent, then you technically do not report to Cragen but to me. As such, your personnel paperwork will reflect the status change, while still leaving you at SVU and allowing you and Elliot to move in together. I'm in need of a Sergeant and you are more than qualified," he said.

"So I would be an IAB snitch? No offense Ed but we know the unit is solid. How am I going to fulfill my duties?" Olivia was surprised that Elliot hadn't jumped into the conversation yet.

"That's the beauty of it. Your fives for your SVU cases will still go through Cragen, as if nothing has changed. No one in your unit, outside of Elliot, will know that you work for IAB, and that will make him uniquely qualified to watch your six. When you work cases with other detectives or members of patrol, you just give me their names and I'll run them. If nothing pops, you continue to work the case just like you always do. If something pops, I'll have a couple of my detectives help you out, so it looks like I initiated the investigation and not you. This way if it ever comes up, the Commissioner can say that you were on special assignment and everything is on the up and up," Tucker was obviously thrilled at this plan he came up with.

"Not even Cragen will know that she's IAB?" Elliot finally opened his mouth.

"Unfortunately the rules state that no one is to know outside of IAB and immediate family. Technically, you're her emergency contact, so you can get away with knowing but Cragen is not," Ed explained.

"Well that's not entirely true. My emergency contact has always been Elliot due to my lack of family. However, since we're both on the job, and now dating, I'll need to amend that. Cragen can be my number two," Olivia said.

"Then he can be included. So what do you think? I know it sounds like a lot but I want to be sure that you're good with this before you go spilling the beans to anyone outside of this office," the Lieutenant said.

"Thanks for going through all this trouble Ed. I am ready, willing, and able to do what IAB needs me to do," she told him.

"You don't want to think on it?" Elliot asked; a little surprised.

"What is there to think about? I want to be with you and this is the only way to do it. Besides, the kids don't need to have us working opposite shifts and working in different precincts. They need two parents that are consistently going to be there when they get home from school or to pick them up from practice. Between us and Kathy, the less fighting over who does what, the better, especially since I think Kathleen and I have had a breakthrough," Olivia said, not caring if Tucker heard.

"So we're good?" Tucker wanted to know.

"We're good. How do we get the ball rolling?" Olivia asked.

"You treat her right Stabler or you'll find my boot up your ass," Ed commented, giving the male detective a look.

"You'll have to get in line," Elliot chuckled.


	22. Chapter 22

"So how'd it go with IAB?" Kenny asked as Elliot and Olivia walked into the bullpen.

"I managed to get off the hook. No fancy job for me," she replied.

"Stuck with us huh?" Munch wondered.

"If you'll still have me," she winked at him.

"Baby girl, without you, this unit doesn't exist. Stabler on the other hand…" Fin gave him a look.

"I see how it is. Just because you're stuck with Munch doesn't mean you can move in on my partner," Elliot teased.

"I resent that. I'm the best looking guy here," the Sergeant said. They all had a chuckle and the Captain opened his door to see what was going on.

"Good news?" He asked.

"I'm staying put Captain," Olivia smiled.

"Excellent news! Now everyone get your fives done! There can't be any hiccups with the paperwork on Berns," Cragen told them before closing his office door.

"My favorite part of the job, paperwork," Munch frowned. They all got busy on writing up their reports, knowing that having Berns off the street for a long time was best for everyone.

One by one, they finished and went home, promising to see everyone tomorrow, until just Olivia and Elliot remained. Cragen was exiting his office and putting his jacket on, when he saw them sitting there; obviously done with their paperwork.

"Waiting on me?" He asked, surprised they hadn't run out the door the moment the forms were filled out. They had stood up and the Captain made sure not to shut his office door.

"Yes actually. We would have come into your office but we saw that you were on the phone," Elliot said.

"Just reassuring Gerald's parole officer that he was helping us out and not violating parole," the Captain smiled and pushed the door back open. The three of them filed in and he closed the door behind him.

"So I'm guessing things are not as simple as you made it seem earlier. Which leg should I give up to keep you here Liv?" Cragen asked.

"Well things are a little more complicated but no limbs need to be given. I am here. I'm not going anywhere," she said, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of the Captain's desk.

"If you mean complicated as in the two of you are doing things outside the office that would make your coworkers blush, then no need to mention it. I suspected something was going on a while ago. Just figured I'd wait until you came to tell me," he chuckled as he took leaned on the front of his desk. Elliot looked at his partner and she looked at him.

"You guys have had your own language since you became partners. I noticed when it changed, you tried really hard, and I think you managed to convince your co-workers nothing hinky was going on but you can't fool me," Cragen continued.

"Gave ourselves away and didn't even know it," Elliot shook his head as he sat down in the chair next to Olivia's.

"Well to be honest, you slipped into that pattern you had when Liv's mother passed - more touching on Elliot's part and less pushing away on Olivia's part. I figured the divorce was the trigger but when the subtle moments continued past the point where Elliot had obviously moved on, I knew for sure. I can't say as I'm surprised but I am concerned about the cohesion of this unit. We can't be falling apart out there chasing perps. I need everyone to remain focused as they have been. So that means I have to call Tucker and I expect that he'll act all surprised but truth be told, I know he won't be," the Captain smirked. Somehow the older man knew everything without them having to say anything. Cragen was a great detective in his own right and the two supposed that they shouldn't have been that surprised given his almost thirty years on the force.

"My visits did have an ulterior motive, yes, but mostly because we didn't want to cause you any harm. Tucker is the only one that could be objective in this situation," Olivia admitted.

"So he's come up with a plan has he? One the Commissioner can live with?" Cragen wondered.

"Well we're crossing our fingers," Olivia said before explaining everything to the Captain.

"And you're good with this?" He asked when she was done.

"Yes," no hesitation in her voice at all. Cragen nodded and then looked at Elliot,

"You treat her right Stabler or you'll find my boot up your ass."

"The line is long for that job Captain but trust me, you'll get first dibs," Elliot chuckled. Cragen smirked and then reached around behind him and picked up his phone.


	23. Chapter 23

"How does it feel to be out of the hospital?" Olivia asked as she helped Kathleen out of the wheelchair which had been pushed by an orderly out of the hospital and down to the car. Elliot was behind the wheel and watched as his daughter and girlfriend interacted.

"Good," Kathleen said. Her voice was not completely back to normal but it was getting there. It had been three days since their last visit and it was good to see her in lifted spirits. The young woman still had appointments that she would need to make with Doctor Schwartz after the hospital psychiatrist and he compared notes.

"I bet. Your dad took some cajoling but he's going to drop us off for dinner, just you and me," Olivia told her as she made sure Kathleen was in the back seat and strapped in.

"What about family dinner?" The young Stabler was surprised.

"We agreed on meeting for dessert. That sound good to you?" The elder woman asked.

"Yes," Kathleen smiled. Olivia climbed into the front passenger seat before Elliot pulled away from the curb. They maneuvered through the traffic in a comfortable silence until they got to a diner near Elliot's apartment.

Olivia quickly got out of the car and opened the back door. Kathleen got out of the car and said goodbye to her father. Olivia poked her head back into the car and gave him a wink.

"Have fun. We'll see you in a bit," he smiled before pulling away.

"Ready kiddo?" She asked as they moved toward the diner.

"Is this our girls' day?" Kathleen asked.

"Nope, this is just me and you and dinner. I figured that you might not want to go back to your dad's with everybody there, just yet. Though I have to admit that I have a surprise," Olivia smiled as they entered the diner. Instead of waiting to be seated, there in a booth not far away was a familiar face.

"Grandma!" Kathleen was glad to see Elliot's mother and didn't care that she was straining her throat.

"Sweetie! I'm so glad that you're ok. I'm sorry I didn't visit you at the hospital," Bernadette said.

"I'm just glad you're here," Kathleen wrapped her arms around the older woman.

"Well Olivia told me everything and I have to admit your dad was reluctant to. It's not his fault though. You see sweetie, I have something that I need to tell you," the matriarch of the Stabler family said. The young woman raised an eyebrow and they started a conversation.

Later that night, Olivia and Elliot climbed into bed together. As they settled in, Elliot pulled his partner close; her head went to his chest. She could tell there was something he wanted to say and knew better than to push.

"Thank you for today," he said, kissing the top of her head.

"Thank you for letting me. Your mom and I have always had a connection. I'm just glad that she listened to me. I really think that Kathleen is already doing so much better," Olivia told him, kissing his shirt covered chest.

"How'd I get so lucky?" Elliot asked pulling her away from him, just enough to see her face in the darkened room.

"I don't know Stabler but you had better not forget it," she teased.

"So everyone keeps telling me. I find it funny that they feel the need to protect you," he said.

"I think it's sweet but we both know that I'd kick your ass," Olivia smirked.

"Yeah you would," Elliot chuckled before moving his head to kiss her.

"Mmmm, don't start something that you can't finish," she cautioned when they parted for lack of oxygen. They were both tired but moments alone were also few and far between lately. The kids had gone home with Kathy and Elliot's mother had insisted the couch was fine for the night.

"Oh I will be finishing what I started," he promised.

**The End**


End file.
